Horseshoe Cable Scarf Surprise
I’ve been wanting to tackle a new version of cable – and have seen the horseshoe cable popping up on all sorts of nerdy knits – most specifically those related to Twilight. They are featured on hats and mittens Bella wears in the first movie.
Horseshoe Cable Example
But I’ve done my fill of hats recently, and haven’t yet ventured out into the world of DPNs successfully, so at this juncture my only option to test out the horseshoe cable is on a scarf.
Unfortunately – there were slim pickings for patterns and the ones featured were not to my liking. What I envisioned was/is a cross between the Irish Hiking Scarf and the simple single horseshoe cable scarf featured here. Something with clear dividers between the cables – and probably more than one column of cables as well.
So, I’ve written my own pattern in order to address the serious lack of horseshoe cable scarf. It’s really rather easy, and kind of surprising that no one has put it all together before.
Here it goes:
Size 8 needles
Cable needle
Worsted Weight Yarn/10 ply (9 wpi) = approximately 350 yards
Special Stitches:
6-st RC (3 over 3 right cross) Sl 3 sts to cable needle and hold in back, k3, then k3 from cable needle.
6-st LC (3 over 3 left cross) Sl 3 sts to cable needle and hold in front, k3, then k3 from cable needle.
Cast on 42 stitches.
Knit 2 rows.
Row 1 (RS): p2, k2, p2, k12, p2, k2, p2, k12, p2, k2, p2
Row 2: k2, p2, k2, p12, k2, p2, k2, p12, k2, p2, k2
Row 3: p2, k2, p2, 6-st RC, 6-st LC, p2, k2, p2, 6-st RC, 6-st LC, p2, k2, p2
Row 4: k2, p2, k2, p12, k2, p2, k2, p12, k2, p2, k2
Row 5: p2, k2, p2, k12, p2, k2, p2, k12, p2, k2, p2
Row 6: k2, p2, k2, p12, k2, p2, k2, p12, k2, p2, k2
Row 7: p2, k2, p2, 6-st RC, 6-st LC, p2, k2, p2, 6-st RC, 6-st LC, p2, k2, p2
Row 8: k2, p2, k2, p12, k2, p2, k2, p12, k2, p2, k2
Rep rows 1-8 until piece reaches desired length.
Knit two rows.
Bind off.
Here is the finished product:
The Other Gryffindor Scarf and…Other Stuff
Guess what I finished, just in time for the opening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I? The “Other” Gryffindor scarf – which shows up in Prisoner of Azkaban (my personal favorite) and The Goblet of Fire (my least favorite). I modified the pattern a bit – used a heavier weight yarn: Aran/10 ply (8 wpi) instead of what the pattern suggested. Also used size 8 needles, as there were no size 7 at either of the two craft stores I visited. I only cast on 60 stitches per row, instead of the 100 it recommended. 100 would have been HUGE. This is the pattern I worked from – DID NOT alter the number of yellow rows. Ended up using barely one skein of the mustard colored yarn.
Here is the finished product:
The "Other" Gryffindor Scarf
We’ve been re-watching the Harry Potter movies leading up to the midnight showing and I’ve already spotted another HP item I’d like to knit up. Maybe as a hat for my mother. I’ll have to check the Charmed Knits book out from the library again…or maybe one of my kind friends or family will purchase one for me.
Anyways – finishing up this project is abnormally satisfying, as I am ready to take a much-needed break from knitting. Yes, after nearly 2.5 months of ALWAYS having a knitting project on the needles (as well as knitting up three birthday presents), I’m taking a week off. Well, maybe just a few days.
I’ll probably start something on Wednesday.
But another pleasurable indulgence has taken hold in the interim: VIDEO GAMES. Most specifically…
Galen Marek is another one of my video game crushes.
It was fantastical to be immersed in the world of Starkiller again, and both the DH and I managed to beat it in one day.
Yeah. That doesn’t seem right. It was a ridiculously short game. Much shorter than the Assassin’s Creed sequel, and also shorter than the original Force Unleashed. The original Force might just be one of my favorite video game experiences in a long, long time.
So – the sequel had a lot to live up to, and didn’t quite make it. It seemed like the storyline was rushed and lacking both the depth and breadth of the original. There was no twist, tangle or really any character arch or growth. Pretty disappointed in the story.
But the game play is excellent. I’d like to get my hands on a copy for the Wii, so I can experience the joy of wielding a light saber again. Otherwise, I’m holding out hope for the third installment. And praying they don’t make a movie out of these video games. I’m quite of the belief that this particular storyline fits so much better on the small screen, with all the intimacy of you, the controller and the TV.
Sure – this would have made a great movie. Theoretically, the prequels would have also made great flicks as well. And we all saw how that played out. No, I much prefer Starkiller, Juno, General Kota and Proxy to exist as playable characters in a video game. I really don’t want Lucas putting his grubby mitts on these folks.
For those doubters – you must answer this question: what would the story gain from being turned into a movie? Video games are already visual and auditory, as well as tactile. Movies just remove one of the sensory experiences. In my opinion, more movies need to be turned into video games. 🙂 But GOOD video games. Not the shite that is already churned out by the direct-to-game industry.
Of course – any obsession or interest is automatically filtered through my youtube lens – so please enjoy a few videos I’ve stumbled across in my searching:
The classic fanvid: music plus video clips
Something altogether different – a lego fight sequence inspired by Force Unleashed.
That’s all you get folks.
We’re picking up a copy of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood tomorrow after work, so you can look forward to some madness on that end. We’ve got Harry Potter on Thursday/Friday and the Portland Comic Book Show on Sunday, so you can pretty much be guaranteed some posts in the near future. Get excited! 😀
Harry Potter Gryffindor Scarf Completed
Tonight saw the completion of a project that has been in the works for nearly a year now. Last spring my Nephew requested a Harry Potter scarf. Seeing as his birthday is this weekend, and the second to last HP movie is opening this month, it seemed quite fateful that he should receive the hand-knit scarf and a ticket to a midnight showing of the Harry Potter movie on his birthday.
The ultimate goal was to have this scarf completed before his birthday party on 11/07/2010. Considering that I started on 10/16/2010 – I was actually hoping to be done before now. Well, technically, it’s been complete for the last week – just sitting around waiting for me to tackle tassles. Yes, as with all projects that require a new skill…I was nervous about tassles. Once I finally sat down this evening and watched a YouTube tutorial, I realized it was stupidly easy and I’ve been quite a little fool for being afeared of this task up until now.
Fringe Tutorial
Originally, I thought I would bump the sizes down a little bit in order to make this fit on an 8 year old – this pattern found at Leaky Cauldron in the Harry Potter Crafts section is more for adults. The knitting went much slower than I anticipated. At one point I considered only doing 15 blocks of color just to be done with the damn thing. Throughout the project, I averaged about a block of color a day. On the best days I could knock out three. I ended up with 19 color blocks total which fits the original pattern. That’s 70 stitches, x22 rows, x19 blocks of color = 29260. Almost 30,000 stitches went into the creation of this scarf. Pretty wild, huh?
The scarf was knit in Cascade 220 Wool Yarn in red and yellow.
Here are some pics of the completed project:
With the Halloween holiday interruption, it took about 20 days total. That doesn’t leave me much time to tackle another two scarves in time for the Midnight release on the 19th. Hmph. I’ve already started another one with a different pattern from the Prisoner of Azkaban (one of my favorite films of the HP series). It’s purple and yellow, so I’m not sure if Dan or myself will be rocking it.
Of course I’ll be posting pics when/if it’s completed in time. This second scarf is with a heavier weight yarn and size 8 needles, which means less stitches, so technically it COULD take less time. I really only started in earnest last night and have already clocked 25 of the first 30 rows. Fingers crossed that I can knock it out in 15 days!
New Skills Gained: making tassles, adding fringe, knitting a scarf in the round
Bad Blogging and Other Assorted Crap
YES: I realize I’ve been a terrible blogger lately. Can I just blame it all on my new job? Basically I’ve gained the much coveted (in my world anyway) mantle of AmeriCorps Program Coordinator but it comes at the cost of tackling two programs. Which used to be staffed and supported by like 5 people. So here’s me…on the raggedy edge for the next 12 months.
So please, bear with me. I promise that I’ll post content very soon, but it’ll probably be sporadic the next month due to hosting multiple day orientations in the next three weeks. And settling into another office. And trying not to go stark raving mad.
BUT: I can promise you more content regarding the Phoenix tattoo (another appointment on the 11th!) AND the aforementioned post comparing the Lizbeths of the World (going to see Eat, Pray, Love this weekend). Probably some True Blood Season 3 wrap-up in there somewhere. Not to mention gurglings about some of my favorite TV shows right now…
October will feature a Wordstock wrap-up and lots of posts regarding the extravaganza known as Halloween (The Walking Dead TV series!).
November is the Portland Comic Book Show, Harry Potter and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood.
ALSO: I’m applying for a MLIS program this year, which will hopefully start up in August. For those not in the know, an MLIS is a Master’s in Library and Information Science. I’ll probably update snippets here and there on ye old blog regarding that process.
ALSO: Expect to see a few knitting posts cropping up. I promise only appropriately themed nerd projects (Jayne Hats and HP scarves in the future).
RIGHT NOW: Emerald City Comic Con 2011 tix are on-sale today. I’m reserving mine immediately. I’m also clearing out my calendar. No, seriously. And there’s a kick-ass hotel 6 blocks from the convention center with free parking and wireless. It’s $59 a night, which is pretty comparable to what we ended up paying at a crappy Motel 6 two years ago. The hotel looks kinda skeevy, but oh well. I don’t plan on spending much time there!
Stumptown Comics Fest posted their dates already. April 16 and 17. They’ve also decided to wear big boy pants and move to the Convention Center. Read all about it here.
I feel like such a proud nerd right now – seeing my Pacific NW comic book scene pull its shit together so early. It is keeping me from going balls-out-crazy with work stress.
That – and the Assassin’s Creed II expansion packs (Bonfire of the Vanities, Battle of Forli) we purchased a few days ago.
Please, have patience with my slothenly ways. I’ll come back in full force pretty soon. Just need some space to catch my breath!
Antlers and the Wolfman
The next project is going to be an Antlers scarf, which can only be found in the pattern book Son of Stitch n Bitch, which I checked out from the library for an entirely different pattern, but ended up falling in love with the scarf. I knew I wanted to tackle the antler cables, and since my next project is going to be Staghorn Fingerless Mitts, it seemed appropriate.
The process has been nearly painless so far – aside from my own errors, which I’ve been able to frog and fix before they got out of hand. Not really loving the cables on either end, and probably wouldn’t have knitted the first four rows, as it has made the bottom of the scarf bow out in a weird shape.
Notice the curling at the ends
The cables do make the scarf seem a bit froofy. And I feel like it’s not nearly wide enough – the cables certainly make it seem smaller. So, while I like the effect of the antlers, there are already things I would go back and change.
Rawr.
This was easily one of the worst movies I’ve seen in awhile. Yeah, I’m starting out like that. Honestly, it should be ridiculously easy to make a decent movie about werewolves right now. With their popularity on the rise because of their close relationship with vampires – it’s the second best thing to actually making a movie about vampires. Unfortunately, this film is laden with so much suck, it hardly appeals to anyone in any demographic.
Visually – it’s as frenetic as a music video on speed. The repeated sequences of the moon slipping between clouds and rising/falling in fast-forward become monotonous and dull after the first five times they are shown. The shadows and fog are never creepy, as they should be in a monster movie, but rather fill up the space on the screen in a languid way which serves no function. The editing is hackneyed at best, with some of the transitions between scenes being worthy of guffaws.
The acting is equally uninspired. Anthony Hopkins fared much better in Dracula than he does here. He is simply phoning it in, hacking his way through the laughable dialogue with a machete, with no apparent grace or interest in what he’s saying. Benicio Del Toro is the most wince-worthy of all the actors in this film. Perhaps it was his crappy, stilted accent – or perhaps it was a shocking lack of any soul in his role to grab onto. Whatever the case, he signed the contract and agreed to the crappy part, so he can take the punishment he deserves.
And The Wolfman costume? At one point my friend leaned over and whispered, “I can’t stop thinking about Teen Wolf.” Neither could I, after that. We’ve come so far in technological advances – CGI, non-shitty makeup. It’s really disappointing when bad make-up ruins the “mood” for you. Not as if this flick ever really has a “mood” outside of being unintentionally funny.
The other actors – Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving are absolutely wasted in their roles. I didn’t even realize Blunt had a name until the very end when she pleads with Wolfman for her life, “it’s me, Gwen.” Oh yeah, old what’s-her-face. Weaving, is another forgettable name, he’s some kind of detective perhaps – but that’s never made quite clear.
Honestly – it might have literally been years since I’ve seen a movie this bad. With such obvious lack of caring on the parts of the actors, director and editors. It was so terrible, I regret giving it even this much mental attention.
Do yourself a favor, and rent An American Werewolf in London instead. It looks like there’s a remake of American Werewolf scheduled to be released in 2011. Let’s hope they don’t screw it up.
Dan
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